Click here to download knowledge organisers for Indian Classical and Bhangra music
INDIAN CLASSICAL - BACKGROUND
•India - Long history of around 3000 years.
•Typically a student will undergo a type of apprenticeship with a highly regarded performer, which as known as a master-student tradition.
•Play by ear and memory
•Sit cross-legged on the floor while performing
•Performances last several hours
•Vast majority is improvised
•Famous Indian Classical musician = Ravi Shankar
•Venue/Location: Indian Classical concert
•Three main musical parts: raga, drone and tala
HOW DO THE INSTRUMENTS INTERACT?
•The music is not written down (learnt by ear)
•Look and listen
•Imitation is common
•Drone and improvised melody (based on ragas)
MELODY SECTION - RAGA
•Raga = set of pitches, like a scale
•Many different ragas - associated with a particular time of day, season or mood
•Some notes in the raga will be more important than others and will be emphasised
•Played on the sitar - a fretted string instrument
•Playing techniques used - pitch bends, glissandos (slides), rapid scales, ornamentation
•Before a performance, everyone agrees which raga to use. The sitar player will improvise a melody around the notes of a raga
HARMONY SECTION - DRONE
•A drone = repeated note, or set of notes, played throughout a piece.
•This forms the harmony in Indian Classical music, and it is static (doesn’t change).
•It is based on the most important note or notes of the Raga.
•Drone is traditionally played on the Tanpura
RHYTHM SECTION - TALA
•Rhythm in Indian classical music is complex
•It uses a Tala – the rhythmic cycle which pieces are based on. The tala is played on a Tabla (small hand drums) and is played with hands and fingers, producing different sounds. The tabla player will improvise rhythms around the tala, which gradually become more complex as the piece progresses
•Like a raga, there are a range of different talas, each with a set number of beats, some of which will be accented. Some are 16 beats long, some over 100 beats long!
•The first beat of the tala – the ‘sam’ – is the most important and is accented.
•There is often dialogue between the different parts, with the Sitar player imitating rhythms played by the tabla.
STRUCTURE
| Alap | Gat – | Jhalla |
| •Slow tempo, improvised introduction in free time. •The sitar introduces and explores the notes of the raga. •There is a drone played by the Tanpura but no tabla drums. | •The tabla enters, creating a clear sense of pulse. •This section is often based on a pre-composed idea (Tala) which the melody instrument uses as a basis for improvisation. •The music builds in excitement. | •More improvisation, faster and more virtuosic (which means the performers try and show off all of their skills). Cascades of scales and intricate rhythms. |
OTHER IMPORTANT MUSICAL FEATURES
Articulation - Strong accent on first beat of bar
Dynamics - build up throughout the performance
Expression - Sitar player, through improvisation and playing techniques
Devices - Imitation, Raga (scale), rapid scales, pitch bends, glissandos (slides) and ornamentation
Texture - Melody (sitar) and accompaniment (tables and tanpura)
Pitch - Sitar explores the Raga (scale) playing higher and lower notes
BHANGRA - BACKGROUND
•Started in the Punjab region of India (which is now split between India and Pakistan)
•Bhangra = refers to a type of Punjabi dancing, which people would take part in every year around harvest-time.
•These festivities would be accompanied by music.
•Bhangra can mean both a dance and a type of music. Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.
MODERN INFLUENCES ON BHANGRA
•Bhangra = Fusion of different influences
•Many groups formed in the UK by British Asian musicians
•Resulted in them combining elements of Western pop and dance music with traditional Punjabi music.
•Alongside traditional instruments and melodies, you will often hear synths, guitars, drum machines and samples (which are sometimes taken from Bollywood film soundtracks)
•Important artists = Alaap, Panjabi MC
MUSICAL FEATURES OF BHANGRA
•RHYTHM - Chaal rhythm, which is played on a drum called a Dhol. Repeated throughout the piece. (Rhythm = Dha na na na na Dha Dha na)
•MELODY use of ornamentation, using rhythms from the chaal. - Vocals - singing in Punjabi, the sing will often bend the notes, making use of microtonal intervals (notes that are smaller than a semitone). Shouts of "hoi!" throughout.
Tumbi - Single stringed instrument often used to play repeated riffs.
Harmonium - keyboard, notes are produced by air passing through reed pipes.
•STRUCTURE - similar to a standard pop song, featuring verses, choruses, and instrumental sections
•TEXTURE - melody and accompaniment
•HARMONY - simple, often using a few chords, playing on the off-beats
•TEMPO - fast, around 180bpm
•METRE - 4/4 time signature